Crawdad Song

 

You get a line and I’ll get a pole, honey.

You get a line and I’ll get a pole, babe.

You get a line and I’ll get a pole,

And we’ll go done to the crawdad hole,

Honey, sugar baby mine. 

 

Get up old man, you slept too late, honey.

Get up old man, you slept too late, babe.

Get up old man, you slept too late,

Last piece of crawdad’s on your plate,

Honey, sugar baby mine. 

 

Get up old woman, you slept too late, honey.

Get up old woman, you slept too late, babe.

Get up old woman, you slept too late,

Crawdad man done passed your gate,

Honey, sugar baby mine. 

 

Along came a man with a sack on his back, honey.

Along came a man with a sack on his back, babe.

Along came a man with a sack on his back,

Packin’ all the crawdads he can pack,

Honey, sugar baby mine.

 

What you gonna do when the lake goes dry, honey?

What you gonna do when the lake goes dry, babe?

What you gonna do when the lake goes dry,

Sit on the bank and watch the crawdad’s die,

Honey, sugar baby mine.

 

The Crawdad Song was originally sung by African American workers building levees to prevent the flooding of the Mississippi River.  It has become a standard among traditional folk and bluegrass musicians.